>> Hanoi tinkers with office, school opening hours

>> New hours proposed for Gov. office workers and students to ease traffic

>> Hanoi urged to curb traffic congestion

Authorities in Hanoi have officially submitted a plan to amend both office and school hours to the Government for approval to mitigate rush hour traffic jams.

Hanoi tries to cope with growing traffic problem

The city plans to have students at universities, colleges, vocational training schools and high schools to begin morning classes at 7am and finish afternoon shift at 6pm.

Private offices and supermarkets would be compelled to work from 9am to 7pm.

Central Government agencies would start their work from 7:30am and finish at 4:30pm.

This is an attempt at mitigating traffic.

If the plan is approved, it would be applied either on December 1 or January 1, to 10 districts in the inner city, as well as two outlying districts, Tu Liem and Thanh Tri.

As part of the effort to curb traffic congestion, the municipal government has decided cease licensing of new taxi companies, and also to tighten control over other forms of transport, such as cyclos and non-registered vehicles.

Another part of the plan is to better manage parking lots in the city.

The city’s submitted plan is a bit different from the Ministry of Transport’s recently proposed timetable for students and state officials in Hanoi as a simple traffic solution.